During my brief stint as a college student, my ‘student resources’ teacher gave us a situation. . . Plane crashed in the northern Minnesota woods. . . we had 12 items: steel wool, newspaper, compass, ax, lighter sans fluid, pistol, plastic air map, 20x20 plastic canvas, extra shirt and pants, crisco, 100 proof whisky, and a family sized chocolate bar. we were to rate the items 1 - 12 least to most important. there is supposed to be an expert rating of the items and an explanation for that rating. . . anyone ever heard of that???
I have done something similiar but mine was in a desert.
I never really got the point, but it was fun to hear how and why different people rated things. And the expert’s opinion was interesting too because there were some really smart ideas there.
Yeah.
I had that (except it was in the wilderness of Canada, and the items were slightly different) to demonstrate the value of working as a team.
The priorities are getting dry, getting a fire, and getting shelter.
Without knowing all the particular details, it’s hard to know if the compass would be useful (when I did it, the quadrangle map showed huge deposits of iron ore that would make it useless).
The steel wool is probably supposed to be for some sort of fire building - electricity and steel wool start a fire nicely.
The newspaper, and the flint from the lighter are probably there for similar reasons.
The ax is for wood chopping, the 20x20 plastic is for shelter.
The gun could be used to signal rescuers.
I do remember they recommend you stay put and wait to be found.
You’d be pretty well off if left with ** gypsiesoul420’S ** list of items.
And yes that is a standard test in many curricula around the country. Usually issued in econ classes and some psych classes.
Let me redefine what i’m looking for maybe. . . does anyone know what the expert rating is and what the explanation is for it??
Here you go
Without knowing more particulars about the context, that would be impossible to answer - where did the test come from? What was the weather in the puzzle? Time of day?
We’ve all said there are different versions of this test. I’d imagine it’s a different set of ‘experts’ each time.
i wasn’t trying to recreate the test, i just wanted to give a general idea so we could find the rankings. . .
The link above mentions using steel wool to “catch” a flame. Can someone explain to me what that means?
It means steel wool will burn. And it will. I’ve actually tried this. I recommend doing it outside.
I once took part in a similar simulation - but the location concerned was the moon.
As a small plane pilot, I actually DO think about some of this stuff on a regular basis. Fortunately, the one time I was forced down into a farm field it was summer (and no damage to me or the airplane).
I do take exception to a couple of items in the website, however:
If you get into my airplane in winter you bring your damn coat. You don’t have to wear it, but it comes with, along with appropriate foot gear, hats, and gloves. Heck, I even carry extra gloves and stuff when it’s REALLY cold.
They make these out of plastic? Since when? They’re paper!
And who the heck carries a jar of Crisco around?
Maybe in Canada… but in the US flight plans are NOT required on all flights. Search will start 1/2 hour after you fail to report in… BUT that doesn’t mean what people think it means. “Search” starts with phone calls to departure and destination airports, followed by airports in between… pilots are told to be prepared to wait up to 72 hours for rescue even in “civilized” areas. Doesn’t always take that long, but it can. And all of that assumes good weather.
Granted, the scenario given is intended as a thinking exercise.
And killing the pilot(s) also takes a couple other potential goodies out of the picture. For instance… the gas and oil in the fuel tanks and engine can be used for fuel. The engine oil would be just as effective as Crisco at protecting exposed skin. It’s easy to drain this stuff off if you know how… but most people don’t know how. And if you don’t know, it’s not obvious. The skin on the airplanes I fly is pretty thin, and could be salvaged to act as windbreaks. The seat cushions could be used as insulation. The battery and wiring in the airplane could be used to generate a spark for fire. There are internationally recognized distress signals that can be used in addition to fire and mirrors.
In addition, this pilot also routinely carries a cellphone and a handheld aviation radio, which can be used to communicate with overhead planes. I’ve also been known to carry a portable CB, all of the above being completely independent of the airplane’s power supply. I have, in addition to matches and a lighter (WITH fluid!) a genuine flint & steel fire starting kit. I carry “spaceblankets” which are amazingly effective, and hand/footwarmer packs.
And, mind you, I fly over civilized areas, near Chicago and its suburbs.
I’m still thinking of upgrading my winter survival kit… the trick is, it has to be easily portable or there’s a tendency to leave it behind.
I do agree the map and compass are a trap. Air navigation maps are NOT suited to foot travel!
Hey! Speak for yourself, I always have a jar of Crisco handy for…um…y’know emergencies…ahem.
Take some steel wool and spread it out. Take it outside or in a well ventilated room with no readily combustable material. Take a 9v battery. Press the positive and negative terminals against the wool. It basically heats up the wool quickly, so if you know what your doing you can start a fire with it. Also a neat party trick.
Even if you don’t have a battery available, steel wool is, in my experience, second only to drier lint in catching a spark from other sources (flint and steel, fire-by-friction, etc). Just be sure that you have something slightly more substantial available immediately to light from the wool, because it burns awfully quick.
I had this one on the moon, the gun was useful for propulsion.
After reading Broomstick’s post (and learning, I might add), I have to say that there is no immediate ranking in order of importance. Everything is subjective.
That tarp may not serve very well as a shelter if you can’t tie it down in the wind. Howevery, that plastic covered map may serve as a great windbreak for the fire. . .
What really matters is the training you have in how to use your tools. Yeah, I’m survival trained and all, but I’m still amazed at some people who make do with stuff as simple as a hairpin, some pantyhoze, a plastic tube, and a trumpet - somehow these folks are able to build a strip mall complete with a Nordstom’s. 
It’s all in how you use what you are given in a certain environment, and how you make do with resources you ain’t given. Like B’stick says: you can use the skin off the airplane for shelter. Just like you can cook an meal on your engine block if you have half the inkling to do so. . .
Tripler
But I admit, I don’t know how to drain the oil out of every aircraft.
The real utility of these exercises is to get you thinking.
In real life, every survival situation is different, but the more scenarios you’ve done prior to the real deal, the more likely you are to come up with effective strategies.
Remember, humans aren’t the fastest or strongest creatures. Compared to a lot of creation, we’re half blind, half deaf, and have no sense of smell at all. Not to mention being hairless and clawless - not too well protected, ya know? But who’s the meanest, badest crew on the planet? Know what the difference between us and them is?
Brainpower.
It’s brainpower that lets you make the most of meager resources and survive hazardous experiences.